At the annual gala dinner this evening for members of the Harvard Club of Israel, the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Israel (HBSAAI), the Penn Club of Israel and the Wharton Club of Israel, the Center for Leadership Initiatives (CLI) was named the 2009 Leadership Formation Award recipient. The award is given annually to individuals and organizations that are nurturing a critical mass of young leaders likely to positively impact the well-being of Israel and the Jewish people.

With a global reach that has thus far involved more than 2,000 participants from over 30 countries, CLI takes a multi-faceted approach to leadership development and professional growth; one that includes crafted gatherings, professional peer networks, fellowships and a host of online resources. All of these are carefully designed to help those who participate in CLI programs – including ROI and the Kivun Intensive, among others – to translate the knowledge and skills they gain into greater impact in their communities.

“CLI was chosen unanimously by the boards of the clubs,” says Isaac Devash, founder and president of the HBSAAI and the Wharton Club of Israel. “We feel strongly that the Schusterman family has developed a powerful, unique model and network that is much bigger than the sum of its parts in its ability to empower many capable Jewish leaders around the globe.”

CLI accepted the award before more than 100 Ivy-League university alumni who came together for the gala dinner at which Meir Brand, director of Google Israel, was the keynote speaker. Past recipients of the Leadership Formation Award include The Center for the Development of Sport Giftedness at the Wingate Institute; LEAD-Israel Youth Leadership Development; MASA-Israel Journey; Taglit-Birthright Israel; Wexner Israel Fellowship Program; Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation – IcExcellence; and ATIDIM Program.

“I am so proud of the recognition CLI is receiving for its work with young Jewish adults,” says Lynn Schusterman. “We believe that engaging and connecting leaders who can work together to build meaningful, exciting Jewish communities for themselves and for their peers are the keys to the Jewish future. We invite others to join CLI in this important work.”

Based in Vancouver, BC and Jerusalem, CLI was founded in 2006 by Lynn Schusterman and is part of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network, which also includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Schusterman Foundation-Israel.